Geostationary satellites reveal ocean surface dynamics

The animation of daily composites of sea surface temperatures (SST) from a NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) provides a new method for the detection of dynamics at the surface of the ocean. By rapidly viewing the daily SST composites of hourly images, it is possible for the human eye to separate the fast moving residual clouds from the slowly moving SST patterns associated with ocean currents, eddies, and upwelling. Although each individual daily composite is still partly cloud covered, the rapid display provides the appearance of continuity of the SST patterns. The GOES SST animations were used during 1998 and 1999 to monitor the time dependent fluctuations of the Gulf Stream, the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico, the Brazil Current, South Equatorial Current and coastal upwelling along the coasts of North and South America. Examples of these SST animations appear at the website: http://www.goes.noaa.gov